Sunday, June 10, 2007

Former Terrorists Speak

It is rare for mainstream universities to allow free speech on campus. But that is what happened recently at UC Irvine. The three ex-terrorists spoke freely and were received civilly--even enthusiastically--by the UC Irvine audience.

“The message these three ex-terrorists bring to the students is so powerful and cuts through the propaganda of those who support terrorist aims and goals that the MSU was simply afraid to confront it, head on. This is the purpose of these events at our colleges.”

Kamal Saleem spoke first and repeated his contention that America is still asleep after 9/11. A terrorist since the age of 7 who went on several missions for the PLO, smuggling explosives in the Golan Heights hidden under the bellies of sheep he herded into Israel as part of his “mission,” Saleem told the audience he had been active on US campuses later in life when as an adult he came to America with the purpose of spreading jihad among Muslim students across America and to recruit new members to the fold. An auto accident that almost killed him turned him around due to the kindness of people in this country who helped him—the same people he was told to wage jihad against.

....Next up came Zak Anani who explained he was descended from a long line of Muslim imams and other Islamic religious leaders so he was well versed in the Koran. He, too, was instilled with the idea of jihad from age three and by age 13 was part of an Islamic terrorists gang in Lebanon where he tacked up 223 kills by the time he left the movement at age 17. He explained how his family and the Koran taught him that “You are the best nation ever, and that the People of the Book, the Jews and Christians are perverted” and how “God has cursed them.” He explained how he converted to Christianity and how by just converting his religion he had endured over a period of 18 years 20 attempts to take his life, both in Lebanon and even in America and Canada. He admonished the audience, “They say that Islam is a ‘peaceful’ religion and quoted from the Koran Chapter 9, surah 5 that calls for Muslims to “ambush the infidels” and promotes a culture of death.

Anani finally left Islam because he said he was brought up to love death in the name of jihad more than life. He continued, “We want life [in America] for us and our children, not death” and explained how he changed so his daughter and her other siblings would have a chance in life. Because of this, he said, he felt he had to rise up and speak out by witnessing to others.

...The audience was clearly moved and impressed by all the speakers, since it gave them a standing ovation for several minutes as the evening concluded.

A similar appearance by the three ex-terrorists was canceled at Princeton--the Princeton administration was afraid that the Princeton student body and community was too uncivilised to allow free speech at Princeton. And they were probably right.

Fortunately, there are still venues where the truth about Islamic terrorism and leftist appeasement can still be told.